Bashfulness
by Gavzilla
Summary: Lan has never been the most social of humans; he's mostly reserved and quite. But when he does interact with others, he has a hard time keeping conversation and noticing social cues. This starts to come ahead during Freshmen year, as socializing becomes very difficult, that is, until Sophomore year when gets partnered with the popular and social Mayl Sakura in his Physics class.
1. The Diagnosis

Edit (AUGUST 1, 2017): Simple spelling fixes.

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The Diagnosis

"He's... well... very hesitant around others." They all peered at the boy playing on the ground only a short distance away. He was meticulously examining a wooden block he took from the bucket next to him. He placed it gently and neatly on the carpeted floor, along with several others, creating a square foundation. The boy sat there and pondered for a moment. He examined the foundation he created one last time before finally reaching back into the bucket and removing more of the same wooden blocks for construction.

"He rarely interacts with the other kids at his school. I've talked with the teacher multiple times to try and figure this out, but nothing has come of it."

The doctor nodded in acknowledgment as he continued to watch the child. "And when he does interact with other children, how is he?" the doctor turned and faced the mother.

"Awkward, in a sense." the mother informed, "He isn't very good at picking up social cues, and he has trouble carrying on conversation. Most of the time he just won't reply to them."

"And this obviously pushes the kids away from him?" the doctor asked. "Yes. They get bored, or what have you, and leave him alone." the mother said, "I feel as though he's starting to learn this, and he isn't talking back out of purpose rather than social deficiency."

"Children can be very smart like that," the doctor explained, "We may tend to think of them as low intelligence, but they can learn and understand patterns just as we adults can. If they find out a way to consistently get what they want, they'll do it."

"I'm afraid that's going to hurt him in the future." the mother explained, "There will come a time when he has to interact with others, like during partner work in school."

"How is he when he interacts with you?" the doctor asked, "Is he more social or less?"

"He's very good with both of us," the mother replied, "But more so with dad."

"What's the difference between how he interacts with you and him?" the doctor said looking at both the mother and father.

"He usually clings on to dad more than I." the mother said. "Yea. We usually spend a lot of time together in a garage building things." the father spoke for the first time.

"So, would you say, your son spends more time with you than his mother?" the doctor asked. "Yea, I would agree with that." the mother and father both mutually agreed.

"Interesting..." the doctor pondered, "Usually it's the other way around; Children would attach to their mother."

"I guess we're just a unique family like that..." the mother smiled. The doctor chuckled before turning back at the boy on the carpeted floor. At this point he was able to construct a simple pyramid out of the wooden blocks. He made sure that all the cubes were properly aligned and that the structure was firm and robust. The boy continued to look upon his creation and smiled. He then carefully started to take each cube from the pyramid and back into the bucket.

"Does he always play with those wooden blocks?" the doctor asked, turning yet again to the parents. "Yes. That's basically the only thing he plays with anymore." the mother said.

"We actually made that block set," the father spoke up, "It was just a simple weekend project. I bought a piece of timber around eight feet long from the local hardware store. It was already in the shape of a two by two inch square, so all we had to do was make equal cuts to make the cubes. I spent the next day sanding them down making them smooth for him to use."

"We?" the doctor asked, "Did your son help you with the project?"

"Yea. It was the both of us in the garage. He helped me mark the measurements and I did the cutting." the father explained.

"Do you work as a carpenter?"

"No, actually. I'm a Net-Researcher at Scilab. I just work with wood as a little side hobby of mine."

"Well, it seems you may have hooked your son, here, into woodworking." the doctor smiled, "May a have a few words with your son?"

"Absolutely!" the mother affirmed. The doctor got up from his seat and sat cross-legged next to the boy.

"Hi, Lan." the doctor said, "What are you building?" Lan seemed to ignore the doctor as he continued placing down yet another foundation of wooden blocks, this time in a more rectangular shape. The doctor waited a few moments, hoping for a reply, but did not receive one.

"Can I help you build, Lan?" the doctor asked, "We could build a big tower! It would look so cool!" Sadly the doctor's attempts of persuasion failed, leaving only silence on his ears. The doctor pondered for a moment. It would appear that Lan really has learned to keep quiet in order to be left alone.

"Lan, sweetie," the mother called, "Let the doctor help build with you."

"No." Lan replied. "Why not?" the doctor asked, pretending to be a little hurt.

"You don't know how to build..." Lan replied. The doctor smiled to himself. Now that he managed to get a reply from Lan, hopefully he will be able to start a conversation.

"Can you teach me how to build?" the doctor asked. But, unfortunately, Lan didn't respond.

"What do you like to build, Lan?" the doctor asked. He thought that Lan was going to remain silent, again, but then he spoke up.

"Buildings..." the doctor smiled and chuckled at Lan's response,"What do the kids at school like to build?"

"I don't know..."

"Do you not build with them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Lan remained silent.

"Why do you not like building with the other kids?" the doctor pushed the question.

Lan remained silent.

"Do the other kids not know how to build?" the doctor asked, remembering what Lan just told him.

"No."

"Does your dad know how to build?"

"Yea."

"Did he teach you how to build?"

"Yea."

"Do you like building with your dad?"

"Yea."

"What do you guys build together?"

Lan remained silent.

"Didn't you guys build these wooden blocks?"

"Yea."

"So what other things do you guys build?"

Lan remained silent.

"What do you like to build at school?"

"Buildings."

"You really like building buildings, huh?"

"Yea."

"Do you only build buildings when at school?"

"Yea."

"You don't play with any other toy?"

"No."

"What do the other kids play with at school?"

"I don't know."

"Do any of the other kids try to play with you?"

Lan remained silent.

"Do you like the other kids in your class?"

Lan remained silent.

"Do you like school?"

"Yea."

"Why is that?"

Lan remained silent.

"Do you get good grades in school?"

"Yea."

The doctor turned back to the parents, "Does he do well in all his classes?"

"Yes. He's been getting A's consistently the past years." the mother testified, "The teacher even told me that he's pretty proficient in Math and Science."

"Very good." the doctor replied, looking back towards the child, "Lan, do you like Math?"

"Yea."

"What do you do in your Math class?"

Lan remained silent.

"Do you add and subtract numbers?"

"Yea."

"Is it fun adding and subtracting numbers?"

"Yea."

"Do you add and subtract numbers when you build things with dad?"

"Yea."

"What kind of numbers do you add and subtract?"

Lan remained silent.

"I guess I'll leave you playing with your blocks." the doctor said before slowly standing up. "Okay." Lan replied, continuing to build the rectangular shape that he started when the doctor started talking with him.

The doctor moved back and sat down in his original seat before starting to talk with the parents again. "Social deficiency does seem to be the main concern.

"Lack of eye contact or any type of visual acknowledgment, very short replies, not very responsive, appears to be absorbed in his own world." the doctor said, "But, despite this, I believe Lan has a very high functioning case."

"What does that mean?" the mother asked.

"Well, you see, we created a spectrum to help diagnose children who may have these social deficiencies." the doctor explained, "The more you lean to one side, the higher functioning you are. This refers to speech and social skills. The lower you are, the more you may struggle with developing these skills than others with a higher functioning case. I would place Lan in the high functioning category.

"I believe some of the issues I presented earlier, such as lack of eye contact, does stem from his high functioning case, but I believe the short replies comes from him learning to not speak to others if he wants to be left alone."

"Is there any medicine he can take to help him with this?" the mother asked.

"For his high functioning case, no. This would be something that is with him for the rest of his life," the doctor continued, "But, as long as you keep encouraging him to socialize eventually these symptoms will become marginalized, usually by adulthood. I host therapy sessions for people who are on the spectrum to try and help them develop the social skills they need, and it's been shown to work. But for a case like Lan's, as long as you keep encouraging him and making him get involved socially as he grows up, his social deficiency should become very minute."

"And what's the best way to do this? Getting him involved in sports or clubs?" the mother asked.

"Absolutely. Definitely encourage him to socialize whenever he can." the doctor said, "Try setting up play dates with other kids he might get along with, or go visit other family members. These can help improve his social skills immensely."

"Doctor, I thank you very much for the help you gave us." the mother smiled, "I means so much to us."

"It was an absolute pleasure!" The doctor replied, "Take this pamphlet, here. It contains more information about this for your convenience." The parents received the pamphlet and stood up and walked to the door.

"Come on, Lan!" the mother said, "We're leaving now." Lan looked up from his blocks at his mother. He quickly put all the blocks back into the bucket and carried it over to his mom and dad.

"Goodbye, Lan! It was nice talking with you!" the doctor smiled as Lan walked by. He became flustered and tried hiding behind his mother's leg.

"Lan, don't be rude." the mother said, "What do you say back?"

"Goodbye..." Lan mumbled, barely being audible for the adults to hear, causing them all to chuckle.

"If you guys have any more questions or concerns, feel absolutely free to call the office or schedule another appointment." the doctor reassured.

"We owe you big time, doctor." the father replied.

"You don't owe me anything..." the doctor said, "Well... maybe the bill..." The adults started to laugh as they started walking out the door, Lan at their feet with his bucket of blocks banging against each other. He stayed very close to his parents as to make sure he didn't lose them as they walked through hallways and down stair cases until they finally entered the man lobby of the building.

The doctor then truly made his final farewell;

"Mr. and Mrs. Hikari, it was a pleasure meeting with you both. I know Lan is going to turn out well; I just know it!"


	2. The Prognosis

Hey... guys...? Are you still mad about the whole "not updating this story for an entire year" thing?

Yeah, I should probably address the elephant in the room: why did it take me a whole year (almost to the date) to _finally_ update this story? Well, there are multiple reasons, actually, in why it took as long as it did.

1) College Life - I started college about a month after I first posted "Bashfulness". As you may have guessed, the first semester of my college career took up basically all my time. Interlude that with things that happen in my life, and you have yourself a recipe of postponed story. However, this changed during Christmas break, when I was finished with my first semester of college. This would lead me to the second factor.

2) Multiple Rewrites - I completely rewrote this chapter _thre_ _e_ times. I originally finished this second chapter during my Christmas break and planned to post the chapter as a Christmas gift. However, due to hindsight with future chapters (and my overall displeasure with the chapter as a whole) I threw away what I wrote and started again. This process repeated, as I said, three different times. This process for writing these rewrites became even slower when second semester of school started.

3) _Too_ Much Motivation - What? Too much motivation? What does that even mean? Well, it's true! I was _too_ motivated to write this story. I actually got sick of rewriting chapter two, so I actually began to write future chapters, finishing one of them. Now, don't get too excited over this. Because of the way this chapter plays out, all future chapters I started need to basically be thrown away and started from scratch. This writing of future chapters took away even more time from writing (and finishing) chapter two. During this time I also wrote two one-shots, which also took away time from chapter two.

So, there it is! Those are the reasons why this chapter took so long to finish, edit, and upload. I want to thank all of those who stuck around and waited for me to update this story. You guys have extraordinary patients!

Guest: Is this cancelled? If so thats a shame.

This story is _not_ canceled! I will see the story to completion! Thanks to all who reviews and _please!_ Leave constructed feedback for me! This is how I learn and improve as an author! I make sure to reply to _every_ review!

I hope this chapter was worth the wait! It's actually more than 6,000 words! The longest chapter I ever wrote to date!

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The Prognosis

"Reservation for 'Hikari'." Lan's father, Yuichiro, told the hostess standing behind the podium. "Okay..." the hostess put on a smile as she tapped on the screen in front of her, confirming the reservation. "Right this way!" She grabbed two menus and showed the father and son to their table. "The waiter will be with you shortly," the hostess smiled once more before leaving to return to her post.

Lan looked around at his surroundings, but it was not the people or decorations that interested him; it was the architecture. He looked at the placement of the walls, the support beams in the ceiling, where the windows and doors were located, how the booths and tables were arranged. He tried to deduce whether a wall was a buttressing, cavity, or compartment; a curtain, dwarf, external, or internal; a green, partition, party, or pile; a rainscreen, separating, solid, supporting, or trombe.

Most people probably had no idea that there were so many different types of walls! But there are! And Lan knew all of them like the back of his hand. He studied each one individually, memorizing their uses until he could recite them off the top of his head, on command, half asleep, and possibly in a state of daze and confusion.

And types of walls weren't the only thing Lan had covered. Shall he talk about the numerous types of beam supports as well? There's universal beams, trussed beams, hip beams, composite beams, open web beams, lattice beams, beam bridges, chilled beams; and this doesn't even include the types of states these beams may be in: simply supported, fixed, overhanging, continuous, or cantilever. The cantilever is almost its own entity at this point: a universal term for any beam that's only supported from one end.

He would mix and match these two ingredients and think of new (at least to Lan's knowledge) combinations of walls and beams which could be used. Sure, practicality is of utmost importance, but where's the fun in that? Architecture did not evolve to where it is today from people sticking to convention!

Picture this! You're tasked with designing a new restaurant that's being built. The owner asks that you design a building that's able to passively cool the kitchen in order to help reduce cost of air conditioning. However, the owner also asks that you separate the kitchen and dining area enough as in it isn't able to sufficiently affect both areas' temperature respectively. What do you do?

Lan knows what to do! Obviously, the kitchen is going to be have three trombe walls. This helps and also solves the owner's passive cooling problem. The fourth wall will be a solid, buttressing wall. This will have maybe two sets of doors that enters the dining area for ease of access for waiters and the like. Have another three walls be cavities, fill them with insulation, add two entrances for ease of use, plop a roof and a canopy around the perimeter, and you have yourself a restaurant with a passively cooled kitchen!

Sounds easy, right? Did it make sense? Lan sure hopes it did. But, as much as he is passionate about architecture, he's still young and dumb. Everything that was just said was probably all wrong and flawed. He didn't even touch on things such as the design of the interior, placement of booths, and adding of a possible bar. Simply designing a building takes much more than passive thought! But that's what school is for, isn't it? He'll go to a School of Architecture and learn all of these nuances there.

"What are you trying to figure out now, Lan?" Yuichiro could see the gears working in his son's head.

"Just thinking..." Lan replied, lazily looking over the menu that's in front of him. It's not like he needed to; he always ordered the same thing when he came here: a burger with a side of cheese curds and a shake. Simple, no? Almost fast-food in nature. Lan first caught wind of this meal when he first started coming here with his father as a kid, and he was stuck on it since.

But, referring back to Dr. Hikari's original comment, there really wasn't anything for Lan to think about. Everytime Lan and Yuichiro would come here, Lan would try to deduce the very fabric and makeup of the building, recreating the blueprints within his head. This full reimagining was finished probably sometime when he was in either seventh or eighth grade. All times after this were nothing more but second opinions.

You see, Lan coined the term "second opinion" after coming up with the "final blueprint" of the restaurant. A "second opinion", in Lan's case, is simply a tweaking or changing of this "final blueprint" with the advent of new knowledge being learnt. You're probably thinking, "Isn't this a term used in medicine and law? Lan didn't coin anything." Well... yeah; this term _is_ used in medicine and law, but those second opinions require another person of the same professional level. In Lan's use of the term, no other person is required, only yourself (and new knowledge that you can apply).

"Are you getting another second opinion?" Yuichiro smiled slightly, looking at his son.

"Not this time." Lan confessed.

"So how's woodworking been going?" his father asked, "I hear you're making a table for mom."

"Yeah." Lan replied, "It'll probably take me a week or more to finish." The Doctor's prediction was right: Yuichiro hooked Lan to woodworking. Starting from when he could walk, Lan was always in the garage (or as he always called it "The Workshop") with his father when he was woodworking. Helping with measurements in the beginning, Lan was eventually promoted to helping with drilling, nailing, and sanding when he entered first and second grade. It wasn't finally until the fifth grade when Lan was once again promoted into being able to make cuts. This extension of responsibility also included things such as glueing and clamping wood.

Heeding the Doctor's advice all those years ago, Lan's mother, Haruka decided to move Lan from the garage in sight of sixth grade and place him in a woodworking course for kids at the ACDC Community Center that ran in the evening during the week. Not only did this grant Lan more access to equipment and wood (an excuse Haruka would use if Lan complained about his leaving The Workshop), it also helped in provoking Lan's interaction with others his age.

With his extensive skill of the craft due to previous years of experience with his father, Lan soon stood one head above the rest in terms of skill. Mr. Marine, his woodworking instructor (who did, in fact, serve with the Electopian Marines), simply left Lan to his own conventions, momentarily checking his progress to make sure all is well. In the following years, as Lan returned, Mr. Marine had his own set of promotions for him, upgrading Lan in terms of the projects he could work on. This resulted in Lan being asked by Mr. Marine to assist in his own projects that he would work on during their time together, further deviating Lan from the students he was with.

This gap in skill created a perfect isolation for Lan, as none bothered him as he worked. He mostly operated in the corner of the workshop, where there was more room. With all of these things considered, Lan almost preferred working at the Community Center rather than at home. It was much more spacious, much better equipment, and he had access to Mr. Marine. As much as Lan prefered solitude, having small chats with Mr. Marine about woodworking really appealed to him. May it be from the friendship that developed between Lan and Mr. Marine, or simply from his instructor's vast knowledge of woodworking, that attracted Lan, he never truly deduced.

However, this relationship that Lan formed with Mr. Marine was progress, but not ideal for Mrs. Hikari. She wished that Lan would have formed this type of relationship with the other boys (and the few girls) in the class, not just the instructor. Haruka brought up this issue with Mr. Marine, who she became good friends with herself, one night when she came to pick Lan up from class.

"Hi, John." Haruka greeted as she walked into the workshop, "Sorry for being late with picking up Lan."

"Oh! Hello there, Mrs. Hikari!" John looked up from the table he was working on, "Don't you worry about you being late! It's no problem, really."

"I just don't want to keep you any later than it already is." Haruka replied.

"Eh," John smiled as he waved his hand, "I'm here 'till maybe nine o'clock anyway cleaning and working on some of my own projects." He stood from the table and walked to where Haruka was standing.

"I never realised you stayed so late." Haruka commented, "And I can't believe how much quieter it is in here with only just you and Lan."

"Oh, sure! This place isn't that loud if you're simply woodworking and not teaching a class." John explained, "But it's nice, you know? Having someone keep you company."

"Oh I'm sure." Haruka said.

"'Tis the life of a carpenter." John shrugged, "I enjoy it. I can only imagine the hours Dr. Hikari works."

"I actually just came from a dinner I needed to attend with Yuichiro at Scilab." Haruka said, "And after the dinner was over the man made his goodbye and right back to his office he went."

"Unbelievable!" John smiled, "And _my_ wife thinks I'm going to work myself to death."

"That man will reach his end sitting at his desk, I tell you." Haruka and John both shared a facetious laugh.

"Yep, Lan has been doing very well." John said, "I tell you, Haruka, that boy could be professional carpenter."

"How has he been with the other kids?" Haruka asked.

"He's been pepping up more," John said, "But he's still lacking in the conversation department."

"Hmm..." Haruka gave a somewhat disappointed frown.

"Now, to be fair, it is difficult for Lan to socialize with the rest of the students simply because of where he's stationed." John pointed to Lan's corner of the workshop, "I've been thinking of moving him back to these tables here, to place him back in with the students, but I don't want to inhibit his abilities, you know?"

"I see what you're saying." Haruka replied, "I most certainly don't want you to 'force' him to socialize like that. It would do more bad than good."

"Actually... Now that I think about it..." John painted a look of thought on his face, "A couple days ago I asked Lan to help Tory (you know the Froids, right?) with some cuts he needed to make whilst I was helping another student. And, from what I could see, he handled it pretty well."

"Oh! Is that so?" Haruka said.

"How about I hire Lan as an aid for next year's class?" John proposed, "He undoubtedly has the skill, and this could help him interact more with others."

"Do you think that would work?" Haruka asked.

"I'm sure it will!" John smiled, "I think Lan has fantastic potential in a leadership role."

"It's most certainly worth a shot." Haruka said, "I really like this idea!"

"The pay wouldn't be anything amazing." John said, "Probably minimum wage, but I think this would be a great way of having Lan interact with others."

"That would be perfect!" Haruka exclaimed, "John, you have done so much. I can't thank you enough for your help in all this."

This was the story as to how Lan received his first job: a carpenter's aid; all thanks to his mother discussing his social interactions with his instructor. Lan, of course, didn't know about the whole "making him interact more" part. They usually tried to keep this intention secret from him.

"Another week to complete a table?" Yuichiro asked, "Why so long?"

"Mr. Marine said he can help stylize the legs." Lan answered, "We decided to go with a saber fashion. It'll take about a day to bend each leg and finish it."

"What do you have completed so far?" Yuichiro followed up.

"Well, it's not completed, but the table top is cut." Lan said, "I just need to sand it down and finish it as well."

"Is it just a flat thing of maple?" Yuichiro asked.

"Kind of." Lan said, "It's just a foot and a half of maple with a lip. Nothing really special."

"No drawer?" Yuichiro continued.

"I decided against it." Lan said, "We were tight on wood as it is. Adding a drawer would've stressed things quite a bit."

"You've become quite the carpenter, Lan." Yuichiro wore a proud face, "I think your skills have surpassed mine."

"I'm not _that_ good..." Lan diverted his attention to the cruet-stand that lived on their booth.

"Have confidence, Lan." Yuichiro spoke, "Be proud of your skills..." His teaching was disrupted, however, as a familiar waitress approached the table to take their order.

"Look who decided to show their faces!" the waitress said, "Get this! A scientist and a carpenter walk into a bar..." The lady was an older one, early forties, and had a very social personality, not to mention her charismatic smile. Lan has seen her almost every time they've come here. According to Yuichiro, she was a bit of a family friend, but this memory was a little hazy.

"Hey, Shara!" Yuichiro greeted, "It's nice to see you again!"

"How have you guys been?" Shara asked, "I haven't seen y'all in what felt like forever!"

"Yeah..." Yuichiro replied, "Things have just been pretty hectic lately."

"Oh, I'm sure!" Shara said, "With all that construction going on down there at Scilab, I'd be going crazy to."

"Don't get me started on the construction..." Yuichiro dramatically rolled his eyes, "The architect we originally hired for the project bailed on us at the start of construction."

"That's no problem, Dr. Hikari!" Shara said, "I got an architect right here that you could hire!" She smiled at Lan as she placed her arm around him.

"We just might have to hire him." Dr. Hikari laughed along with Shara. Lan forced a small smile on his face and hoped that this conversation would blow over.

"How have you been, baby?" Shara asked, "It's been awfully loud around here without you." Yuichiro chuckled.

All hope was lost.

"I—I've been good..." Lan's voice was small. There was a considerable decline in confidence than when he spoke with his father.

"Are you an architect yet?" Shara smiled.

"Not yet." Lan replied, gripping his hand, "But I'm... umm... I'm w—working on it."

"Well, when you become one, baby, you call me straight away, okay?" Shara said, "I'm looking to remodel my back porch."

"I will." Lan replied mechanically, by default agreeing with whatever Shara said. It wasn't so much out of rudeness, or lack of interest, that caused Lan to react like this; it was simply out just wanting to be left alone. The anxiety that filled his system when he spoke was screaming for him to stop. He still gripped his hand.

"How about I stop wasting y'all's time and finally take your order?" Shara said as she took out her notepad, "I'll start with you, Doctor."

"I've been eyeing the 'Shrimp 'N Parmesan Sirloin'." Yuichiro pointed to the item on the menu, "Would you recommend it?"

"Oh! Of course!" Shara said, "Personally, I'm not really a fan of seafood, but the shrimp tastes like chicken to me. Stereotypical, right?" Yuichiro and Shara shared a laugh.

"That sounds delightful!" Yuichiro replied, "The 'Shrimp-chicken Sirloin' it is!"

"Alrighty!" Shara said as she wrote down the order, "And how about a drink?"

"I'll just take a bottle of Electopian Fuzz, please." Yuichiro said.

"Beautiful!" Shara said, finishing her notepad scribbles, "And how about you, dear? Same old, same old: burger, cheese curds, and shake?"

"Yes, please." Lan replied, still with a fragile voice.

"You know..." Shara looked up from her notepad, "May I recommend the spicy wings? We cook them wonderfully crisp and with this fantastic mild sauce that adds enough _oomph_ to the wings that makes them just irresistible!"

"I may have to change my order..." Yuichiro commented, looking at Lan.

"N—no thanks..." Lan replied, a feeling of awkwardness dominating his system. He further gripped his hand; whiteness was beginning to show around his knuckles.

"I'll get him one of these days!" Shara leaned over and joked with Yuichiro, "I'll be back with your guys' drinks and your food will be with you shortly!" With that, Shara left the table to fulfill her duty.

Lan finally released his hand. Yuichiro noticed also, unbeknownst to his son. They continued to sit silently.

"How has it been working as Mr. Marine's aid?" Yuichiro broke the silence, "You enjoying it so far?"

"Yeah." Lan simply replied.

"Tell me about it." Yuichiro continued, "What's a normal 'work day' like?"

"Well..." Lan pondered, "It isn't as much helping as you think."

"That's fine." Yuichiro assured, "Just explain to me what a normal day is like."

"Umm..." Lan continued to ponder, "Usually when mom drops me off I just start back with working on whatever project I'm on."

"You don't sit with the class or anything like that?" Yuichiro asked.

"No," Lan replied, "Not really. Mr. Marine would usually call me if I need to help anyone or be present for something."

"What do you usually help people with?" Yuichiro said, "Just helping them make cuts or measurements?"

"Yeah." Lan answered, "Sometimes I help them operate a machine, too, like the jointer."

"You talk to anyone when you're there?" Yuichiro said.

"N—"

"Here you are!" Shara unknowingly interrupted the Hikari's conversation as she placed Yuichiro's soda and Lan's shake in front of them, "Your food will follow shortly!"

"Thank you very much, Shara." Yuichiro smiled, followed by a small smile and nod from Lan.

"Y'all are most certainly welcome!" Shara made her exit.

Another moment of silence fell over the family.

"You excited for your Sophomore year?" Yuichiro, knowing the answer to the previous question (and knowing he's not going to receive an answer for "why?"), decided to change topics.

"I guess." Lan replied.

"You know what classes you're going to take?" Yuichiro inquired.

"Contemporary English... Pre-calculus..." Lan continued to think, "Advanced Electopian History... and... ugh...

"Physics!" Lan gained some satisfaction in his voice when he remembered his final course.

"Sounds like a pretty good line-up." Yuichiro commented, "You excited for any specific course?"

"Pre-calc or physics if I needed to pick one." Lan answered.

"You were always a science guy." Yuichiro chuckled to himself, "I wonder were you got that from..." A smile formed on Lan's face after hearing his father's comment.

"Yeah..." Lan said, "I wonder..." The father and son smiled at each other.

"Did you enjoy your freshman year?" Yuichiro continued.

"I thought it was fine." Lan replied.

"You weren't bullied or anything like that, were you?" Yuichiro asked.

"No." Lan had a visible look of concern on his face, "I had no issue with bullies or anything like that."

"You talk with your classmates throughout the day?" Yuichiro asked.

"Not everyday." Lan said.

"You knew people in your class, though, right?" Yuichiro followed up.

"Yeah." Lan assured, "Why these weird questions?" This wasn't brought out of annoyance, but genuine curiousness. Why the jump from bullying to talking with classmates?

"Just curious about this generation's schooling system." Yuichiro explained away, "The high school I went to as a kid was small. Everybody knew everybody. Since you're high school is much larger than mine, I just wanted to see if people still knew each other, you know? If they extended out past their usual group of friends."

"Oh..." Lan replied, "Yeah. People still mingle around during class and such."

"Do you see people who are in your woodworking class in school?" Yuichiro continued questioning.

"Yeah." Lan replied, taking a heavy sip from his shake.

"Do they say, "Hi!" to you in the hallways and such?" Yuichiro asked.

"Only Tory." Lan said.

"Froid?" Yuichiro added.

"Yeah." Lan affirmed.

"You talk to him during school?" Yuichiro asked.

"So—"

"Here y'all are!" Shara appeared next to the table holding a tray with the Hikari's order, "Sirloin for you... and burger and cheese curds for you..."

"This looks absolutely wonderful!" Yuichiro spoke when he was handed his meal.

"Only the best for the Doctor and Carpenter!" Shara explained, "You guys enjoy your meal! I'll be back in a little while to check up on y'all!" Once more, Shara departed.

The father and son fell silent for yet a third time in order to begin eating the food in front of them. Lan's burger tasted delicious. It always tasted delicious; this place knew exactly how to make them. The cheese curds, also, followed suit. Dr. Hikari's meal had a similar conclusion: delicious. The two were never disappointed with a meal when they came here.

"How's your food?" Yuichiro said after a quick break from chewing.

"Good." Lan replied, taking another sip of his shake.

"The sirloin and shrimp are pretty good." Yuichiro said, "Want to give it a taste?"

"No thanks." Lan replied, taking another bite out of his burger.

"There's more food on the menu than just burgers, you know." Yuichiro commented.

"I know that." Lan said.

"You ever gonna try something new?" Yuichiro asked.

"Why?" Lan replied, "I like their burgers."

"You can't live off of burgers for the rest of your life." Yuichiro said.

"I don't just eat burgers." Lan corrected, "I'll eat anything mom makes."

"Your mother _is_ a great cook..." Yuichiro agreed, taking another bite of his sirloin.

Silence dominated the table a fourth time.

"You know, I got to talk with the architect we hired a couple times before he left the project." Yuichiro said after taking a bite from his sirloin.

"About what?" Lan replied.

"Just about architecting as a whole." Yuichiro answered, "I told him about your wanting to be an architect and asked for some advice he could give you."

"What did he say?" Lan asked, interest being apparent in his voice.

"He said to take of any resources you may have in your community." Yuichiro said, "Like architecture summer camps."

"I don't think we have any those types of camps in ACDC." Lan said. A conflict of emotions began to form within him.

You see, Lan was both glad and upset with there being no type of architectural camp that he could attend. The idea of having to sign up for a summer camp and attend it without truly knowing what to expect made Lan feel anxious. _Really_ anxious. However, this feeling was contradicted by disappointment. The only way to flex his architectural muscle was from books he or his parents would buy. Sure, these textbooks were good for general concepts and explanations about different types of construction an architect may use, but that really doesn't compare with having an actual teacher standing on front of you.

This anxiety partially confused Lan the more he tried to understand it. To his recollection, there wasn't really any anxiety that accompanied Lan when he began his woodworking course back in the sixth grade. Was it from his young innocence? Or naïvety? Lan truly did not know. However, even if the class did invoke an anxious feeling, Lan is a three year veteran to the course— an aid! Lan knew exactly what to expect. All fear has been dispelled, knowingly or not.

"Unfortunately." Yuichiro confirmed, "I checked after I was done talking with him."

"Hmm..." Lan acknowledged his father's sleuthing.

"How has y'all's food been so far?" Shara reappeared, surprising even Dr. Hikari.

"Oh! It's been fantastic!" Yuichiro said, pointing to his almost finished dish, "I'm gonna have to drag Haruka back here and have her try this sirloin."

"That's wonderful to hear, Yuichiro!" Shara thanked, "How about you, baby?"

"D—delicious..." Lan's voice returned to its small state as he looked down at his, too, almost completed plate.

"I'll let you guys finish your dishes before I come back with y'all's bill, okay?" Shara informed, "Well, with your bill, Yuichiro."

"Unfortunately..." Yuichiro shared a small laugh with Shara.

"I'll be back!" And with that, Shara made her way back to where she was needed most.

"Do you know what the job of an architect is?" Yuichiro spoke up almost immediately. Lan gave his father an almost shocked expression. It was more out of the randomness of the question rather than the insulting implication against Lan's intelligence.

"Yeah." Lan smiled lightly, finding this a bit funny, "They design buildings for construction."

"That's only part of their job." Yuichiro explained.

"What?" Lan asked, "What else do they do?"

"They create the practical out of the impractical." Yuichiro said.

"What?" Lan repeated.

"When the architect was drawing the blueprints for the new Scilab expansion, he ran into an issue." Yuichiro said, "We wanted to place a support pole between two of the new floors that also doubled as a staircase. Unfortunately, the top floor where the staircase would lead was too heavy for the pole to sufficiently support it if it were also a staircase."  
"Well, what did the architect do?" Lan asked.

"Let me ask you this:" Yuichiro replied, "What would _you_ do?"

"I would move the staircase." Lan answered, "If the original wouldn't work, you have to change it."

"The Scilab Construction Committee objected greatly to the changing of this stairway." Yuichiro said, "The entire floor plan would need to be edited and revamped if this staircase were moved."

"What else do you want the architect to do?" Lan asked, "If it can't be done, it can't be done."

"We didn't have a choice." Yuichiro objected, "It needed to be done like that."

"Well, what did the architect say?" Lan asked.

"It's not what he said," Yuichiro explained, "But what he _did_."

"What he did?" Lan repeated, confusion in his voice.

"The architect, although he wasn't too happy about it, eventually caved into the Committee's wish."  
"What was the wish?" Lan asked.

"To stick with the original floor plans." Yuichiro answered.

"Oh..." Lan scolded himself mentally for misunderstanding what his father was saying.

"The architect left and about a week later he came back with a solution." Yuichiro explained, "He created a new support uniquely built for this specific construction."

"What?" Lan asked, "How could he have done that? What even was the support?"

"Unfortunately I don't know." Yuichiro said, "All I know is that this support he created has never been done before."

"That's pretty cool, actually..." Lan said, "I'd really like to know what this 'new support' is."

"The point is, Lan," Yuichiro spoke with a sudden shift in tone, "You're going to find yourself facing issues that you can't change, and the solution you may come up with may seem impractical, but that doesn't mean you should dismiss it.

"Everyday at my work I'm presented with solutions that seem almost ludicrous to try and execute; yet, my job is to take those solutions and find a way to make them work. Even now, in your life, you have come across issues partnered with solutions that don't totally seem to be worth it. Think of the table you're currently making! You say that it would be quite a stretch to try and include a drawer, but what if you didn't have a choice? You may need to create a new design in order to fulfil this table's requirements.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, Lan, is that it's okay to do things differently. It's okay that you may deviate from the known and try something completely in the dark. The important thing is that you try, Lan; you try to create the practical out of the impractical. If you do that, there won't be anything that you _can't_ do."

Lan felt the importance that each word carried. It was obvious that his father was trying to teach him an important lesson. He looked up to his father and held much respect for him. Lan could only wish that he could recreate the success that his father had earned. No matter what went wrong, Yuichiro Hikari would always be there to help solve any problem.

A smile on his face; the man always had a smile on his face. Despite his work, Yuichiro still found a way to spend time with his son: with a smile on his face. There would be times that Lan would become nervous or anxious as he went with his father to whatever event they planned. But seeing his father smile acted as an almost safety blanket to Lan. It was something that he could wrap himself with whenever fear plagued him on whatever occasion.

Yet, as he found himself getting older and older, this safety blanket began to dissolve. No more was his father's smile as reassuring as it once was. Again, for what reason? What was changing within Lan that was causing this extended anxiety and immunity to his father's smile?

Maybe his father saw this change within Lan. Maybe this was why Yuichiro was giving him this speech: comfort. But comfort for what? This was just simply speaking of problem-solving. What comfort was there to bring in this? Was this just Yuichiro being Yuichiro: informing Lan with answers to questions he hasn't even asked yet?

It was reasons like this as to why Lan held much respect for his father. Yuichiro was playing four dimensional chess, and Lan can't even see the board. He felt that as though the only way he could repay his father for everything he has done would be by loving him.

And Lan truly loved his father.

"I will, dad." Lan smiled, looking to his father, "I'll try to create the practical out of the impractical."

"You make me proud, son." Yuichiro spoke, "I love you, Lan."

"I... I lo—"

"Here you guys are!" Shara returned to the table holding the bill that was due for pay.

"Thank you very much, Shara." Yuichiro took the folder and looked at the amount due.

"You two have a fantastic night, now!" Shara said her goodbyes.

"You, too, Shara!" Yuichiro replied.

"Goodbye." Lan had slightly more confidence in his voice.

"You take care now, baby!" Shara waved at Lan as she began to walk back to the kitchen. Yuichiro took out his wallet and laid the money he owed in the check presenter and placed it back in the middle of the table. The father and son stood up and began to leave the restaurant.

"Dad?" Lan asked as they left the entrance doors.

"Yes, Lan?" Yuichiro answered.

"What happened to the architect Scilab hired?"

"I don't actually know, son." Yuichiro explained, "The answer I was given was that he simply left the project."

"Hmm..." Lan hummed with curiosity in his voice, "Will you guys have to hire another one?"

"Yep." Yuichiro answered, "We'll have to hire another architect to double check his work."

"So, what you're saying is," Lan began to chuckle, "You need a second opinion?"

"Yeah..." Yuichiro began to laugh with his son, "I guess you could say that..."

* * *

That night, Lan exited the upstairs bathroom and began to walk back to his room. However, as he walked by the stairs that lead down to the first floor, he could overhear his parents talking in the living room.

"How was he at Sam's House?" Haruka asked.

"Good." Yuichiro replied, "He got pretty sheepish around Shara, however."

"Hmm..." a touch of disappointment entered Haruka's voice.

"But Shara is a pretty energetic creature." Yuichiro defended, "Any kid would be intimidated by her. You know how she is."

 _"Are they talking about me?"_ Lan thought to himself as he stood by the top of the steps.

"But it's not like he doesn't know who she is." Haruka replied, "You guys have seen her pretty much every time you dined there."

"Yeah, but he doesn't see her every week." Yuichiro said, "She's a friend to us, not to him."

"Did he act how he usually acts when he replied to her?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah." Yuichiro said, "He gripped his hand so tight, Haruka, I swear I saw nail marks."

Lan looked down at his hand. Indents caused by his nails made themselves known to him.

He never noticed them before.

"That's terrible..." Haruka commented, empathy in her voice.

"I just think it's because he gets so anxious about talking to others." Yuichiro proposed.

"But it hasn't gotten better." Haruka said, "No matter what we try, nothing seems to work."

"Now, don't jump to all hope is lost." Yuichiro comforted, "Maybe he just needs a little bit more time."

"More time?" Haruka said, "Yuichiro, the boy is a sophomore in High School! How much longer until college? Until the boy is off and living on his own? He needs these communicative skills!"

"Calm down, Haruka," Yuichiro appeased, "Getting upset isn't going to fix this!"

"Well, what do you propose, Yuichiro?" Haruka argued, "Something needs to be done."

There was a moment of silence.

"We can call the Doctor." Yuichiro finally stated.

There was another moment of silence.  
"He told us back when we first took him that he conducts therapy sessions." Yuichiro continued, "Maybe those can get us the results we seek."

Lan could hear slight movement downstairs.

"I'll call the Doctor tomorrow." Haruka finally spoke, "I'll see if I can schedule an appointment for the end of this week."

"Haruka..." Yuichiro called, "I think it would unfair of us to just see only what he isn't."

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.  
"He's a great woodworker, excellent scholar, and has a dream for what he wants to be in the future." Yuichiro explained, "And he works as a carpenter's aid— helping others, no less! To say that he hasn't improved at all would be a complete lie."

"Yes..." Haruka replied, "You're absolutely right."

"Thinks will get better, Haruka." Yuichiro assured, "Have faith."

"I have complete faith, Yuichiro." Haruka said, "We're in this together."

"Absolutely." Yuichiro replied, "Let's head up to bed. It's getting late." Lan had a quick panic attack, realising that he was still standing at the top of the stairs. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he trotted back to his room and shut the door. He listened closely as he heard his parents walk by his room.

It wasn't until now, back in his room, that Lan fully ascertained what had happened. His parents were speaking about him. There was no denying it! But what were they speaking of? Acting in his usual way? Gripping of his hand? Anxiety when talking to others? _Taking him to a doctor?_

Lan never really second guessed these things. His hand gripping? He thought it was just a habit he formed as a kid. His anxiousness? He thought all people felt this way when they talked to people they didn't know well. Why are these such major concerns? And what was with this talk about not making as much progress as they liked?

Lan started to become slightly scared. Whatever this issue was, it was serious. He never heard mom raise her voice at dad like that. Was he tearing their marriage apart? Was he causing issues within this family? Sadness and fear began to dominate his system.

"I don't want my parents to divorce..." Lan spoke aloud, quietly.

"I don't want mom to yell at dad anymore..." His voice quaked and lip quivered.

"I don't want to go see a doctor..." Tears began to fill his eyes.

"What's wrong with me?" Lan began to repeat this statement.

"What's wrong with me?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"What's wrong with me?" He fell to his knees; tears began to fall.

"Is that why they took me to the doctor all those years ago?" Lan asked, louder than he expected. His voice trembled. His mind was racing with this revelation. Paranoia began to completely dominate his system; anxiety being its partner. He took hold of his hand. He couldn't take his eyes away. _"He gripped his hand so tight, Haruka, I swear I saw nail marks."_ He was hurting himself and he didn't even know it. _"No matter what we try, nothing seems to work."_ He was hurting his mother and he didn't even know it. _"Maybe he just needs a little bit more time."_ He was hurting his father and didn't even know it. _"We're in this together."_ He was hurting his family and he didn't even know it.

"To try and figure out what's wrong with me...?" Lan fell to ground fully and cried.

" _Am I not normal?"_


End file.
